Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Prescott's Affair...Johnny Two Shags!

How big is that in metric John?We said at the time of the referendum that you couldn't trust a word that this man said. Now a deception a little closer to home is exposed.How long before you are tagged Johnny Two Shags by the tabloids?At least we in the North East said 'No.'

But remember, this is an old story and is political chaff sent up in an attempt to deflect the press and media away from the big story...Charles Clarke and the problem of the missing prisoners.

The big question is how many of these released offenders have committed further crimes? We have the most incompetent Government in history...on all fronts, but the trouble is there is no opposition!

Prescott:I had an affair07:38am 26th April 2006 Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has confessed to having an affair with one of his secretaries, according to reports.

Mr Prescott, 67, and Tracey Temple, 43, started meeting in secret at his Whitehall flat after a two-year fling began at an office party.

Mr Prescott told a newspaper: "I did have a relationship with her which I regret. It ended some time ago. I have discussed this fully with my wife Pauline, who is devastated by the news. I would be grateful if Pauline and I can now get on with our lives together."

The pair began working together when Ms Temple was appointed as Mr Prescott's Assistant Private Secretary, with special responsibility to organise his diary. She had previously worked as a personal diary secretary for former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam, and was said to be close friends with the Labour MP who died of cancer last year.

Mr Williams told the Daily Mirror: "I feel sick. I can't believe the woman I wanted to marry has slept with John Prescott. I've been betrayed by one of the most powerful men in the UK." The Mirror reported that civil service colleagues were shocked by the way that Mr Prescott flirted with Ms Temple at work. They were said to have started the affair at the office Christmas party in 2002 when they danced together almost all night.A colleague said she had later seen the diary secretary "nuzzle" Mr Prescott's neck in the lift. She said she thought it was "inappropriate".

Mr Prescott was reported to have laughed off the incident as a "bit of messing about" but three days later was said to be "livid" when office gossip claimed they were having an affair.However, the newspaper said they then embarked on a full-blown affair with Ms Temple making regularly visits to the Deputy Prime Minister's flat in Whitehall.

A Downing Street spokesman said only: "It is a private matter."

Outside the Deputy Prime Minister's home in Hull today uniformed police were on guard, but there was no sign of Mr and Mrs Prescott.Three officers were patrolling the street outside the large detached house in the Sutton area of the city.The two sets of gates in front of the turreted property were firmly closed.

Mr Prescott's constituency home hit the headlines during last year's General Election campaign when Greenpeace activists stormed his front gates and set up solar panels on its roof.Today, there was no sign of any activity behind the six-foot tall black gates.

Phil Woolas, a local government minister in the Deputy Prime Minister's department, said he had been unaware of Mr Prescott's affair and denied that it had been common knowledge around Whitehall."I think it is a private matter for the Deputy Prime Minister," he told reporters at a Labour Party local election press briefing in London."I have worked for him for many years and I have every confidence in his ability, not just as a public spokesperson for the Government but as the chair of Cabinet committees and as deputy to the Prime Minister and standing in for him, and in leading his department."He is one of the most incredibly able politicians I have worked with. I am very proud to work with him."